1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shoulder strap retainers and more particularly pertains to shoulder strap and jewelry retainers which may be used to retain jewelry upon the shoulder of a user and to allow the user to carry a strap equipped article without lifting the shoulder while further preventing theft of the mentioned article.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of shoulder strap retainers is known in the prior art. More specifically, shoulder strap retainers heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of retaining shoulder slings are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,672 describes a safety attachment purse hook that allows the strap of a pocket book or purse to be retained to the shoulder of a jacket or coat.
Another similar device can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,873 which illustrates the same basic idea of the foregoing patent but utilizes hook and loop fasteners to retain accessories such as skiing hats and skiing goggles.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,039 describes a shoulder sling retainer that may be attached to a user's clothing for retaining the sling of an article.
The shoulder strap retainers previously mentioned are all capable of retaining shoulder slings but only inasmuch as they are all readily visible to the eye and markedly attached to a user's clothing. In addition, the shoulder sling retainers mentioned heretofore do not allow for the disguise of the retainer and for the attachment of interchangeable jewelry to the retainer and as can be appreciated, readily visible shoulder strap retainers operate to the advantage of a potential thief.
In this respect, the shoulder sling and jewelry retainer according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of retaining jewelry upon the shoulder of the user and to allow a user to carry a sling equipped article without lifting the shoulder while further preventing theft of the mentioned article through the use of a concealed retainer structure.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for new and improved shoulder sling retainers which can be utilized to retain jewelry upon the shoulder of the user and to allow a user to carry a sling equipped article without lifting the shoulder while further preventing theft of the mentioned article through the use of a concealed retainer structure. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.